The First Time
by Noritsu
Summary: Total RaiKim. A pinch of Clay & Omi for humorous purposes. Rated T for some minor suggestive content. Set a few years after the series ends. Oneshot.


**Xiaolin Showdown**

**The First Time**

Authoress: Noritsu

Disclaimer

I do not own the Xiaolin Showdown characters, or the Xiaolin Showdown universe. They are copyrighted and belong to Christie Hui and Warner Brothers.

The storyline, however, is mine. So no pilfering, please. Thanks.

**TUN** Publishing Company

May, 2007

**T**he**U**sual**N**onsense

**The First Time**

Kimiko ran her hands down the front of her skirt, trying to press out a few small wayward wrinkles that had cropped up during its stay in the closet. This was one of her favorite skirts, and she hadn't worn it in a while, but she specifically wanted to wear it tonight.

She looked up at the clock on the wall, and considered if she would have time to iron it quickly before Rai came back. He would be home in about another two hours, and she really wanted to have everything ready by then. This was a special night and, seeing as how Rai wasn't aware of what she was planning, she wanted the surprise to go off with as few hitches as possible.

She took off the skirt, and put on her shorts. She decided that, yes, she was going to do a little spot ironing after all. When she was done, she carefully put the skirt back on the hanger, and just as carefully, hooked it onto the rim of the closet door frame. She didn't want it to get wrinkled again by stuffing it back inside. She sighed and regarded the state of her closet for a moment. She really should get in there and try to weed out the clothes she didn't wear anymore. She was older now, they all were of course, and for her part, she wasn't as obsessed with her wardrobe as she had been when she was younger.

She abruptly cut her thoughts off with a shake of her head. Now was not the time for reminiscing. She had many things to do yet to get ready until Rai got home.

She sifted through the closet until she found a few tops she thought might go well with her skirt. She laid the skirt on the bed, and laid each top, in turn, above it, studying the colors, and the design of each piece. She finally made her selection, and put the rest of the tops back. Then, she hung the top, and the skirt, back on the rim of the closet frame.

Now that that was done, she could move on to the other things. But first, she needed to get herself a shower. She wanted to be all nice and clean, and smelling fantabulous for Rai.

She went down the hall to the storage closet, and rummaged around in it, looking for some candlesticks. She found a pair that she remembered Rai had used some time ago, when he was planning for the formal dinner that all the masters of the surrounding temples were coming here to attend. She found a pair of not too worn, cream colored, tapered candles and picked them up along with a pack of matches. Then she went back down the hall to her bedroom.

She put the items on her dresser for now. She could deal with assembling them later. A late afternoon breeze was playing with the curtains at her window, and the movement caught her eye. She found herself walking over to look out.

_My how things have changed. _

Had it really been only a few months since the battle for good had ended?

Chase had been the last holdout. No one could dig their heels in like Chase. Not even Jack. They had learned that the hard way over these past few years.

But Chase had decided to push things, and that had ended up being his final downfall. Rai had put together an _indirect_ strategy – that's what he had called it – and in the end, Chase's own frustration had been what did him in.

It was a horrible battle. It had lasted for almost a day and a half. And although no one in their immediate group, which included Master Guan, had been killed, there were emotional scars that they would probably still be dealing with for a long time to come.

Kimiko closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. The end of the struggle between the Xiaolin and Heylin forces meant that she and Rai could finally acknowledge, in a more public way, the feelings they had for each other that they had been fighting against all this time. No more were they bound to put duty, and honor, above everything else. The conflict was over, and things were getting back to some semblance of normalcy. None of them could bring themselves to enter into a discussion about the possibility of going home, however. Not even Clay. Heck, he hadn't even called home yet to let his dad know that it was all over.

And so, they continued on, with Rai still as their leader. Although the tasks they had been involved in lately were related to trying to help the people that had been affected, and displaced by, the final battle. Rai joked that twenty years from now, they'd still be here doing chores, and helping lost strays find a place to belong.

She smiled to herself at that last memory, and then pulled the window down a bit. Reminiscing, she told herself again, was something she could engage in later with Rai. And they'd make some new memories, some better ones, to help ease and replace the bad ones from the battle.

She turned around and looked at the clock on the wall.

_Holy – !_

Well, she'd just blown an entire twenty minute block of her time with all her dawdling around. She was really going to have to hustle now.

She grabbed her bathrobe from the back of her door, and headed off for the washroom.

xsxsxsxs

Kimiko put the match to the candle and held it there for a moment. A small part of the flame obligingly jumped from the match to the candle wick and took up residence. She did the same with the other candle and then blew out the match.

She walked over and placed the match in the ashtray, and watched for a few seconds as the smoke rose and curled into the air. Her nerves were starting to get to her, and she focused on the smoke as a way to try and block out the presence of the swarm of butterflies that were banging around in her stomach.

Rai would be home any minute now.

A sudden surge of emotion rose up within her, and she pulled some tissues from the box and dabbed at her eyes. She was _not_ going to cry, out of happiness, or anything else.

She turned around and gave the room another once over. The candles were flickering nicely now, and the room was bathed in a soft glow. She had turned the ceiling light down, and the dimness, coupled with the candlelight, was creating just the sort of ambience she was looking to achieve.

In the distance, down the hall, the doorknob began to turn. The clicking sound, even though slight, carried back to Kimiko's ears, and she stiffened.

_This is it._

She walked out of the room and down the hall to meet her still leader, and now boyfriend.

He was just turning around from hanging his jacket on the coat rack. He picked up a bag he'd come back with, and straightened up.

Green eyes met blue, and Rai's face split open in a brilliant smile.

"Hi beautiful!" he said.

She grinned. Would she ever get used to that?

He put the bag back down on the hall chair, and she walked into his waiting arms. He hugged her fiercely, as though he hadn't seen her in ages. She felt so good in his arms.

Kimiko rested her cheek against his shoulder. It felt so right to finally be here, wrapped in his strong arms. She felt so safe.

She reluctantly broke the embrace, and pulled away from him.

"I have a special something planned for us," she said.

He looked at her quizzically, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. "Oh, really?"

She picked the bag back up and gave it to him. He held onto the bag, while she pulled him down the hall, her hand firmly in his.

"Close your eyes," she said.

He dutifully did what he was told.

She pulled him through the door frame into the room. She told him to still keep his eyes closed as she took the bag from him and set it down…..somewhere. Then, she turned him slightly so that he would be facing whatever the direction was that she wanted him to face.

"Okay, now," she said. "You can open you eyes."

His eyelids slid open, and widened, ever so slightly, at the sight. Well, he wasn't expecting this. "Wow," he said. "This is…..nice." The adjective seemed inadequate, and he frowned at it, searching his mind to see if he could come up with a better one. Obviously, this was all a surprise she had planned for him, and he probably wasn't reacting quite the way she was hoping he would. When he'd walked through the front door, the only thing on his mind had been to kick his shoes off, and settle down in a comfy chair for a while.

"This is beautiful, Kimi," he finally said. "Just like you."

Judging by the reaction on her face, he had said the right thing.

She stepped over to stand in front of him and she kissed him lightly. "C'mere," she said.

They walked into the room and sat down. She turned to face him directly, and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly, she felt rather shy, and a little silly, actually. Then, she gathered up her nerve, smiled a rather coy smile and said, "Would you like to start with a breast, or a thigh?"

His eyebrow crept up into his hairline. My, what a provocative question. And an interesting, and rather unusual way, to start this whole affair.

"Hmmmmm. I guess I'll go with a thigh."

She smiled and proceeded to offer him the choice he'd made.

Rai opened his mouth, and Kimiko held her breath.

He bit down – .

Kimiko found herself biting her own lip slightly – .

He tore off a small chunk and chewed on it thoughtfully for a while. "Mmmmm, this is really good!" he exclaimed, pointing at the chicken thigh as though he thought she didn't realize that he was holding it right in front of him. He bit off another chunk, and a wave of relief washed over her.

_Whew….._

She grabbed the handle of the pitcher, and poured out some tea for him. "Would you like some mashed potatoes?" she asked.

"Mmmmm, yeah."

She plopped a few spoonfuls onto his plate.

He finished chewing and swallowing and put the thigh back on the plate. "Is this the first time you ever cooked anything?" he asked, as he took a sip of the tea. He racked his brain. He really couldn't recall that she had ever cooked anything before. "Mmmm, this is good tea, too," he said.

She smiled proudly, all her worries washed away, "Yes, it is."

He looked at his food. Fried chicken, hmmmmm. He didn't want to upset her by saying anything that would make her think he thought she was fibbing. But, still…..

"Now, please don't get mad at me for asking this," he started. "It's just that – ."

"Yeah, I helped her a little," Clay said, as he abruptly pushed the door to the dining room open.

"_Clay!_" Kimiko yelled, as Rai burst out laughing.

"That's my great aunt Lurlene's recipe for Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Mm-mm. It don't get any better than that."

"I mixed everything up myself!" Kimi shouted in protest.

"Yep, that she did," Clay agreed. "She mixed it up and coated the chicken. She even boiled off the potatoes, and mashed 'em with the seasoning. She did a nice right job, she did."

"Ah, Raimundo," a new voice chimed in.

"Omi, we ain't supposed to be interruptin' 'em."

Omi glared at Clay. "But, _you_ are interrupting them. Why do _you_ get to talk to him, and _I _do not get to talk to him?"

"Hi Omi," Rai said, still trying to get his laughing fit under control.

"Ah, hello, Raimundo. I – ." That was all he was able to get out of his mouth before Clay shoved him back in the kitchen.

"We won't be botherin' ya anymore," Clay said. Then he, too, stepped back in the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

Rai put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to quash the last few bits of laughter that were bubbling up in his throat.

Kimiko was now sitting with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked rather put off, and her lower lip was stuck out in a pout.

He put his forefinger on the pouty lip. He traced over it and it receded back into place. Then, he leaned forward, and began to kiss her lightly behind her ear.

All the angry thoughts that had been running through Kimiko's mind suddenly dissolved out of their solid form and became a jumble of fuzzy, disconnected words that didn't make any sense.

Rai kissed his way down her jaw to her chin. He put his lips on hers, and kissed her, lightly, at first, and then more forcefully. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward into a fiercely passionate kiss that left him breathless when it was over.

He put his arms around her, and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Our first romantic dinner together," he said. "A certain two fellow dragons notwithstanding. I appreciate that you wanted to do this for me, Kimi, and the trouble you went to to make it happen."

Kimiko nestled herself against his chest. She could hear his heart beating in a nice steady rhythm, and it caused other, unbidden thoughts, to rise up in her mind. There was another first waiting in the wings for them she knew. One that would most likely not come around for a while yet but, that was okay with her. They had been through so much the last few months, she didn't want to rush things.

For now, she was happy simply being in his arms, and listening to his heart beat, and listening to the sound of his breathing.

And one thing was for certain, when that other, particular first finally rolled around, she was going to _personally_ kick Clay and Omi out of the temple.

finis

* * *

You know, I got the idea for this story earlier this afternoon. I started writing it around 3:30. After typing away at it for about an hour, I decided to temporarily abandon the LOST fic I'm in the middle of hashing out, and plow through this so I could get it finished and post it yet tonight. I'm glad I did. I think it turned out rather nice, and I hope ya'll did, too.

Of course, I deliberately wrote it this way so you would think it was going to be about something else. I did not do this, though, because I'm evil. It's just my plot bunnies that are evil.

…..maybe I should fire them and get new ones…

Anyway, please click the little button thingey, and leave a review if you so wish…

TTFN, Nori  
_this is no pie!_


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